Indices end flat with marginal gain, Nifty closes above 17,950; IT, Auto slip

Unlike Asian peers, Indian benchmark indices ended in green with marginal gains on Thursday despite negative global cues. Sensex added 37 points to close at 60,298, while Nifty closed just above 17,950 making a gain of 12 points.

The indices remained in red for most of the day with Sensex being down more than 200 points at noon but made a late rally to end in green.

IT, Auto, and Oil and Gas dragged the market and closed in red today, whereas Realty and Metal gained around a percentage.

Among stocks, Dr Reddy's Laboratories, UPL and Wipro featured among the laggards. Kotak Bank made a healthy gain of more than 3%. L&T and Tata Consumer also ended among the top performers today.

Asian stocks fell on Thursday as investors parsed US Federal Reserve meeting minutes which hinted at an aggressive rate hike to control inflation.

Japanese stocks fell as traders assessed whether the central bank would temper its aggressive policy. Japan's Nikkei share average shed 0.91% at the open and stayed around that level throughout the day.

Chinese shares also closed deep in negative territory in line with a sell-off across world markets. The Hang Seng Index sank 0.80% and the Shanghai Composite Index shed 0.46%.

European shares edged lower in choppy trading on Thursday after an ECB board member hinted at another large rate hike next month even as recession risks harden. ECB is all set to focus on inflation.

The negative sentiment around the central banks' aggressive stance and the fear of recession will play in traders' minds and will impact the performance of European and US stocks on Thursday.

Domestic brokerage and research firm HDFC Securities, while sharing its top picks, has recommended three stocks that investors can look to buy, which are from construction, auto ancillaries and real estate sectors with the time horizon of over next two to four quarters. The three stock picks are J Kumar Infraprojects Ltd, LG Balakrishnan & Bros. Ltd, and Mahindra Lifespace Developers Ltd. (Full Report)

Singapore will overtake Australia to have Asia’s highest share of millionaires in the adult population by 2030, according to a report by HSBC Holdings Plc. In absolute terms, mainland China is expected to have around 50 million millionaires by 2030 and India could house more than six million: HSBC (Full Report)

Adani Green Energy on Thursday said it has received provisional approval for some green energy projects in Sri Lanka but it is yet to sign any definitive agreement.

"We wish to submit that the company, in its normal course, keeps on exploring various business opportunities. Please note that at this point in time, the Company has received the provisional approval only, whereas it is yet to sign any definitive agreement which would require any disclosure," the Adani group company told stock exchanges in reply to a query about a news item on the investment.

The Adani group company said it will make appropriate disclosures as and when there is a disclosable event. (ANI)

Sri Lanka's economic meltdown will result in a record contraction of at least 8% this year but the public could soon expect some relief from runaway inflation, the head of the country's central bank said Thursday.

The island nation defaulted on its $51 billion foreign debt in April and is seeking an International Monetary Fund bailout after months of food, fuel and medicine shortages. (Full Report)

Tata Motors on 18 August announced that it has won an order of 921 electric buses from Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC).

Under the larger tender by Convergence Energy Services Limited (CESL), Tata Motors will supply, operate and maintain 12-metre electric buses for a period 12 years, a company statement said. (Full Report)

India's worst period of macro instability is possibly over, and both consumer inflation and trade deficit are expected to moderate albeit gradually, Morgan Stanley said.

"Global commodity prices were largely steady last month, with the exception of oil prices which continued to decline," Upasana Chachra, chief India economist at Morgan Stanley, said in the note on Wednesday.

"We believe the worst of macro instability is behind us now, though moderation in inflation and narrowing of India's trade deficit will be gradual." (Reuters)

Maruti Suzuki is betting that a bigger and more fuel-efficient version of its small hatchback, Alto, can bring back buyers to a segment that long-dominated Indian roads but has recently lost its popularity to sports-utility vehicles (SUVs).

Hatchbacks are the backbone of personal transport in India making up 38% of total car sales but SUVs, with their sporty body styles and in-car connectivity features, took the lead last fiscal year with around a 40% share.

India's biggest carmaker hopes to arrest this trend by targeting young buyers in large cities with its new Alto which is bigger than its predecessor, has a larger, one-litre engine and more features, said Shashank Srivastava, senior executive officer, marketing and sales. (Reuters)

The initial share-sale of airport service aggregator platform DreamFolks Services Ltd will open for public subscription on August 24.

The three-day public issue would conclude on August 26 and the bidding for anchor investors would open on August 23, according to the red herring prospectus (RHP).

The initial public offer (IPO) is entirely an offer for sale of up to 1.72 crore equity shares by promoters Liberatha Peter Kallat, Dinesh Nagpal and Mukesh Yadav. The public issue will constitute 33% of the post offer paid-up equity share capital of the company.

DreamFolks facilitates an enhanced airport experience for passengers, leveraging its technology-driven platform. (PTI)

Hong Kong shares closed deep in negative territory Thursday, in line with a sell-off across world markets after Federal Reserve minutes fanned concerns that interest rates will continue to rise and be held elevated until inflation is tamed.

The Hang Seng Index sank 0.80%, or 158.54 points, to end at 19,763.91. The Shanghai Composite Index shed 0.46%, or 14.98 points, to 3,277.54.

The Union Ministry of Steel on 17 August extended the last date for receipt of applications under the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for Specialty Steel again. The deadline to fill application through the online application window is now 15 September, 2022. (More Details)

European natural gas futures extended their gains as an energy-supply crunch continued to batter the region, amid signs that the fuel becoming too costly for industrial use and power generation.

Prices are about ten times higher than where they usually are for the time of the year, as costs spiral for households and businesses facing the worst inflation in decades and the risk of recession. Europe has already lost about half of its zinc and aluminium smelting capacity over the past year due to high energy costs, and more is set to go offline. (Bloomberg)

Reports suggested that private equity major Blackstone will sell Sona BLW Precision Forgings Ltd’s shares worth ₹3,971.7 crore through a block trade today, according to the terms of the deal seen by Bloomberg.

The Indian unit of Nomura Holdings Inc. is the sole placement agent of the deal. Books are set to close Thursday. The Blackstone-controlled entity held a 34.1% stake in Sona BLW as of June 2022, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The private equity firm had sold a large chunk of its shareholding worth ₹5,250 crore during the company’s initial public offering (IPO) in June last year. (Read More)

Japanese stocks fell alongside Asian peers on Thursday, as investors parsed U.S. Federal Reserve meeting minutes and awaited an upcoming symposium to assess whether the central bank would temper its aggressive policy.

Japan's Nikkei share average shed 0.91% at the open and stayed around that level throughout the day, ending down 0.96% at 28,942.14.

The losses erased most of the gains from the previous day, when the Nikkei closed above 29,000 for the first time since January. The index is still up around 4% for the week. (Reuters)

Shares of Kama Holdings are one of the multibagger stocks that Indian stock market has delivered in recent years. The stock is in news these days for developments in regard to dividend payment. The board of directors of the company has fixed 30th August 2022 as record date for finalising the eligible shareholders for dividend payment. However, the company is yet to announce the dividend. The company has informed board of directors of the company will consider interim dividend payment in its scheduled meeting on 22nd August 2022. (Full Report)

Gold could rally above $2,000 an ounce next year as inflation remains elevated, underpinning support for the metal often viewed as a traditional hedge against price pressures, an industry veteran said.

Given the latest Federal Reserve minutes signal hikes could be deferred or smaller, that indicates “the market is going to have to get used to inflation numbers being much higher for longer,” Jake Klein, executive chairman at Australia’s Evolution Mining Ltd., told Bloomberg TV. “That’s good for gold.”

Minutes from the Fed’s last meeting in July released on Wednesday showed that officials saw the need to eventually dial back the pace of rate increases. The participants also warned against over-tightening that could hurt the economy, while flagging the risk of inflation pressures becoming entrenched. (Full Report)

Domestic module manufacturer Vikram Solar has received capital markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India's (SEBI) approval to raise funds through an initial public offering (IPO). The company had filed its draft papers in March this year. Vikram Solar IPO consists of a fresh issue of up to ₹1,500 crore and an OFS of up to 50 lakh shares. (Full Report)

Dr. Reddy's Laboratories, Wipro and Sun Pharma lag.  

India's oilmeal exports during the first four months of the current financial year - April to July - were 35% higher year-on-year at around 1.25 million tonnes.

During the same period last year, exports were around 927,555 tonnes, data compiled by edible oil industry body The Solvent Extractors' Association of India showed.

Oilmeals are basically the residue left over after the extraction of oil from oilseeds, and they are widely used as livestock feed.

In July alone, oilmeal exports were reported at 227,247 tonnes compared to 191,663 tonnes in the same month. (ANI)

On account of rise in quarterly sales, ease in semiconductor shortage and EV theme attracting foreign investments, quality auto stocks are in top gear these days, which has led to Nifty auto index surge towards record high. Nifty Auto index today is quoting at 13,155 after making an intraday high of 13,206, around 130 points away from its 52-week high of 13,336 levels. 

Speaking on the fundamentals that is fueling auto stocks and Nifty Auto index, Sreeram Ramdas, Vice President at Green Portfolio said, "The quarterly volume sales of market leaders - Maruti, Mahindra & Mahindra and Tata Motors have witnessed a sustainable double-digit growth despite the world economy peering into the gloom. Semiconductor shortage was an impediment to these names as they were running behind production schedules. Fast forward to today, the demand-supply scenario has capsized, semiconductor shortage has eased, and automobile names are delivering above pre-pandemic volumes." (Full Report)

The European Central Bank will continue to hike interest rates, according to Governing Council member Martins Kazaks.

“At the moment what we see is that that inflation is unacceptably high, in Latvia above 20%,” Kazaks said in an interview with Latvia’s TV3.

“Monetary policy already from last December became more restrictive: In the beginning, we were decreasing support programs and in the past few months also significantly increasing interest rates and we will continue to increase interest rates with the goal not to allow inflation” to become entrenched, he said. (Bloomberg)

Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Thursday asked telecom service providers to gear up for 5G launch, post the issuance of spectrum allocation letters.

In a first, the Department of Telecom (DoT) has issued spectrum assignment letters on the same day the successful bidders of radio waves made upfront payments.

"5G Update:Spectrum assignment letter issued. Requesting TSPs to prepare for 5G launch," Vaishnaw wrote on a social media platform. (PTI)

India on 18 August saw a single-day rise of 12,608 new Covid infections taking the total tally of infections to 4,42,98,864.

The active cases in the country declined to 1,01,343, according to the Union Health Ministry updated data.

The national death toll climbed to 5,27,206 with 72 fatalities, including 29 fatalities by Kerala, the data updated at 8 am stated. (Full Report)

The rupee depreciated 23 paise to 79.68 against the US dollar in opening trade on Thursday, tracking the strength of the American currency in the overseas market and a muted trend in domestic equities.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 79.60 against the US dollar, then fell to 79.68, registering a decline of 23 paise over the last close.

On Wednesday, the rupee gained 29 paise to settle at 79.45 against the dollar. (PTI)

Sameet Chavan, chief analyst-technical and derivatives, Angel One Ltd: The Indian equity market started the session on a promising note tracking the positive global cues. The optimism across the global bourses and favorable domestic macro data has spread buoyancy to our market, resulting in broad-based buying interest. The benchmark index Nifty50 surged upwards for the seventh consecutive session to reclaim the 17900 level and continued its positive stature by procuring over six-tenth of a percent gain.

The bulls have taken complete control of the market and are being very rigid in letting any correction happen. The broad-based buying has also bolstered positive sentiments across the participants, which are evident on the technical chart. The unilateral movement of the index has placed it toward the psychological mark of 18000, which might hinder the ongoing up move, followed by the weekly swing high of 18100-18150 odd levels that might act as a sturdy wall for the bulls. On the contrary, 17830-17765 is likely to act as the immediate support zone, whereas the sacrosanct support lies around the 17500 mark.

There have been contributions across the board, wherein the significant benefactors that boosted the bullish sentiments were from the IT and Banking space. Looking at the recent developments, the undertone is likely to remain in favor of the bulls, with significant traction seen outside the indices. Hence it is advisable to keep Identifying apt themes and potential movers within the same, which are likely to provide better trading opportunities. Meanwhile, it is also advisable to keep a close tab on global developments.

Tirthankar Das, technical & derivative analyst, Retail, Ashika Stock Broking Ltd: On the technical front, Nifty formed a positive candle on the daily chart and is close to challenge the life time high. The trendline resistance adjoining the highs of Oct’21, Jan’22 and Apr’22 has been breached and is trading comfortably above it. Against such backdrop one can expect that the present rally to extend further immediately towards 18100-18150 levels. Likewise support base has now shifted higher to 17,500 to 17,550 range (gap support). Momentum oscillator though are trading in overbought price conditions, but no signs of exhaustion can be seen yet rather had been supportive with weekly RSI breached past the 6-months falling trend line. Market breadth has seen remarkable improvement, indicating broader market participation across sectors. Thus, during the day Nifty is likely to open on a slight negative note due to weak overnight global market, however overall outlook is positive hence, intraday dip towards 17,800-17,850 can be the buying opportunity for target of 18,100.

ICICI Bank shares have been trading at record high levels of ₹885 and brokerages see more upside as they remain bullish on the bank stock post the release of its annual report. ICICI Bank's annual report reaffirms the view that the bank is progressing well in its endeavour to strengthen its Balance Sheet, with a strong focus on the Retail franchise, say analysts.

Bharti Airtel received spectrum allocation letter within few hours of making upfront payment to the Department of Telecom, Bharti Enterprises founder and chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal said on Thursday.

This is the first time ever that the Department of Telecom (DoT) has handed out a spectrum allocation letter on the day of making upfront payment.

The Department of Telecom has received payment of around ₹17,876 crore from service providers -- Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio, Adani Data Networks and Vodafone Idea for spectrum they won in a recent auction. (PTI)

Shares of Reliance Industries (RIL) started trading ex-dividend on Thursday, a day ahead of its record date for determining eligible shareholders for the dividend benefit for FY22. The company's board of directors has recommended a dividend of ₹8.00 per equity share of ₹10 for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2022. (Full Report)

Indian government bond yields are likely to trend lower in early deals on Thursday, as underlying investor sentiment remains positive ahead of an auction of a new 10-year bond on Friday.

The benchmark 10-year government bond yield is likely to trade in a 7.15%-7.21% band, a trader with a private bank said. The yield dropped 11 basis points to 7.1825% on Wednesday in its biggest single-day fall in two months. (Reuters)

Dr. Reddy's Laboratories and Sun Pharma are in red, down around 3% each.

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Four days subscription for the public issue worth ₹840 crore is going to end today. As per Syrma SGS Technologies IPO subscription status after three days of bidding, the public offer has been subscribed 2.27 times whereas its retail portion has been subscribed 2.66 times. Meanwhile, Syrma SGS Technologies share price has remained almost steady in the grey market in last 24 hours. According to market observers, shares of Syrma SGS Technologies are available in the grey market at a premium of ₹36. (Full Report)

Arijit Malakar, head of retail research at Ashika Group: Indian markets continue its positive momentum mainly backed by renewed confidence of foreign investors on Indian market. Indian market closed in positive as falling oil prices and robust earnings from U.S. retailers helped offset concerns of darkening economic outlook globally. Investors are awaiting for minutes of US Federal reserve which will provide guidance on future rate hike. Federal Reserve's minutes of the July meeting will come out later today. Easing inflation concerns after the WPI inflation slowed down to a 5-month low of 13.93% in July, provide some respite to the investors as it seems that inflation might peak out. Crude oil prices also dropped on worries about the outlook for energy demand and on a potential increase in OPEC supply and that also went in favour of Indian markets.

China’s Covid cases surged to a three-month high, driven by a worsening outbreak in the tropical Hainan province that has become the country’s biggest since Shanghai was shut down in the spring.

There were 3,424 infections reported across China for Wednesday, up from 2,888 a day earlier. Of the total, 2,018 were in Hainan province, up from 1,663. The virus has continued to spread even though most of the island has been under lockdown for almost two weeks. (Bloomberg)

Balrampur Chini Mills, Delta Corp, and Tata Chemicals securities still remain in the ban period for the F&O segment as they have crossed 95% of the market-wide position limit. (Full Report)

The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation or IRCTC shares are going to trade ex-dividend today as the Indian Railways' PSU has fixed 19th August 2022 as record date to finalise eligible shareholders for final dividend payment. The board of directors of IRCTC has already approved final dividend of ₹1.50 per per equity share for the financial year 2021-22. This final dividend of ₹1.5 per equity share is in addition to the interim dividend of ₹2.0 per equity share announced in February 2022.

Cryptocurrencies prices today fell again, with Bitcoin and Ether both retreating for the fifth consecutive day on Thursday. The world's largest and most popular cryptocurrency was trading nearly 3% lower at $23,428. The global crypto market cap today was above the $1 trillion mark, even as it was down over 2% in the last 24 hours at $1.17 trillion, as per CoinGecko. (Full Report)

Indian billionaire Radhakishan Damani’s discount supermarket chain, DMart, plans to boost its store count fivefold as it seeks to grow market share and hold its own against aggressive expansion from the likes of Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Retail Ltd.

Avenue Supermarts Ltd could scale up the chain known for its knockdown prices on everything from lentils to laundry powder to 1,500 supermarkets from 284. (Full Report)

India's crude oil imports from Russia in July fell for the first time since March along with its overall purchase while supplies from Saudi Arabia rebounded for the first in five months, data obtained from trade and industry sources showed.

Indian refiners lifted more term supplies from Saudi Arabia as prices were attractive while prices for Russian supplies have climbed on robust demand.

India shipped in 877,400 barrels per day (bpd) oil from Russia in July, a decline of about 7.3% from June, with Moscow continuing as its second biggest oil supplier after Iraq. (Reuters)

Razorpay said on Thursday it had bought offline payments firm Ezetap, marking the Sequoia Capital-backed firm's latest bet on the payments industry in a deal which a source with knowledge of said was worth $150 million.

Razorpay, which is valued at more than $7 billion and offers payment gateway services for online merchants, said in a statement that the acquisition was its biggest to date.

It said the deal would boost efforts to tap the offline market which still accounts for a bulk of electronic payments in India. Ezetap, whose products include point-of-sale machines, processes more than $10 billion in annual transactions in India. (Reuters)

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Nomura Holdings Inc. downgraded their forecasts for China’s economic growth further, with a power supply crunch adding more uncertainty to the outlook.

Goldman Sachs lowered its projection for gross domestic product growth to 3% from 3.3%, citing weaker-than-expected July economic data as well as near-term energy constraints. Nomura slashed its forecast to 2.8% from 3.3%.

China’s slowdown deepened in July as a worsening property slump and Covid lockdowns continued to curb business and consumer activity. The central bank unexpectedly cut interest rates this week to help bolster growth, while local governments are set to sell more bonds to ramp up spending. (Bloomberg)

Microfinance companies’ loan disbursal in June quarter fell from the preceding quarter, a phenomenon experts attributed to a recent Reserve Bank of India (RBI) guideline revising risk assessment practices for these lenders. Microlenders must assess the indebtedness of the borrowing household. From 1 April, RBI capped the loan repayment obligation of a household at 50% of monthly income. (Full Report)

Tokyo shares opened lower Thursday following US losses, while investors locked in profits after recent market gains.

The headline Nikkei 225 index fell 0.93% or 273.02 points to 28,949.75 in early trade, while the broader Topix index lost 0.76% or 15.35 points to 1,991.64. (AFP)

Debt-ridden Future Enterprises Ltd said an operational creditor of the company has filed a plea before the National Company Law Tribunal to initiate insolvency proceedings against it. Future Enterprises Ltd (FEL), part of the Kishore Biyani-led Future Group, is facing difficulties like other firms of the group.

FEL was part of the 19 group companies operating in retail, wholesale, logistics and warehousing segments which were supposed to be transferred to Reliance Retail as part of a ₹24,713-crore deal announced in August 2020. (Full Report)